Polar Night, Midnight Sun
by deadpan riot
Summary: Caught between the Church and the men who oppose them, Alucard will have to decide where to stand. Will he obey his masters and let eternal day reign, or will he defy them and bring about eternal night?
1. unearthing a trump card

a/n: So I saw Priest the other day, and was quite taken with the premise of it. Not to mention the way Black Hat made me think of Alucard(mostly the duster and hat). In contrast to what others have said, I actually liked the way the story was more open ended and less 'this is what happened and why', if only because as a writer it gives me far more creative lisence to make up my own explainations for, well, everything. And it makes it a hell of a lot easier to create a crossover fic.

note: This takes place after the conclusion of the movie, assuming the head honchos of The Church, however reluctanly and only to themselves, admit they may have a bit of a vampire problem on their hands. As far as Hellsingverse goes, well, judging by the city ruins in the movie, I placed it about 5 centuries later. And for those of you that don't remember who Monsignor Orelas is off hand(I had to google it tbh) he's the main head of the church dude who Priest busted in on in the end of the movie.

disclaimer: I own nothing. OR DO I? (no really, nothing own I)

Chapter one: Unearthing a Trump Card  
>Summary: The Church unearths their oldest asset from days long gone in order to gain the upper hand.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Awaken, Child of Darkness…"<em>

The darkness shifted, taking form in a shapeless, endless entity. It danced, smothering the senses even as it celebrated the consciousness of its master.

"_Awaken, Demon, your Masters demand it of you…"_

Hunger, white hot and virulent, roared through his veins like the unquenchable fires of Hell. The darkness crowded inwards, until it existed all around yet within a singular point. Eyelids, papery thin, slowly losing their fight to hold onto the comforting shadows of displacement.

"_Awaken, No Life King, that is an order!"_

Ancient eyelids snapped open, milky blue irises slowly bleeding crimson as sight was returned. Gangly, skeletal frame jerked as an arm lifted, taloned hand rising to grasp the edge of the coffin.

Monsignor Orelas swept a disdainful gaze over the grotesque man before him and his fellows. The blood they had offered for the creature's rebirth was winding its way into the ancient coffin still, bleeding color into the bleached hair and eyes. Before his eyes the frame filled in enough to allow the beast movement, but leaving much to be desired.

Slowly, the man sat up, eyes on his knees as he scraped his palms gently against his resting place. There was no acknowledgment to the gathered men as a single breath was released from unused lungs.

It was unnerving to him, to see a corpse so long gone yet so oddly well preserved reviving in such a manner. The scent of earth from a long lost land wafted to him, drowning for the moment the coppery tang of blood, kerosene and flame.

"Look at me, Heathen Beast, acknowledge your Master."

Dull black hair shifted as the man's head turned toward him, revealing a blank, hollow face. The half lidded eyes stood out starkly against the framework of the face.

"_Master?_" Raw, raspy, yet somehow still mocking. A deep chuckle rattled the man's ribcage; sending chills racing down the spines of all present, including Orelas's. "You do not bear the blood of a Hellsing…"

Orelas frowned at the airy statement. "You have been asleep long, _monster_. The Hellsings are no more. Centuries ago their organization was bought out and integrated, their duties passed down, honed, and ultimately perfected. And with them, their…_assets_. By the contracts and sanctions of my ancestors, _you are mine_."

The chuckle had begun anew, rising until it erupted from the man's lips, parting them to release something that was neither true laughter nor true derision. As the Monsignor silently fumed the noise subsided, allowing the vampire to speak.

"'Contracts', 'sanctions', _ancestors_…People who have no blood relation to you, that happened to be in your position years before…I do not know the intricacies of your human meddling, but I hope for your sake you speak the truth. If not, well…Perhaps you'll make a passable _meal, _my _master_."

His underlings made to move forward as one, but he stopped them with a flick of his wrist, striding purposefully to the side of the coffin. Grabbing a fistful of lank hair, he yanked the man's head back, forcing the vampire to look up at him.

"You would do well to keep your mocking to yourself, abomination of God. The contracts on your binding are _absolute_, written by the church and sealed by the blood of your Hellsing master! You will do as I command you, or find yourself once again entombed."

"Well then, shall we test your _absolute_ power over me?"

In a flash the eyes snapped open, burning with the fires of Hell as the room was plunged into darkness. Orelas caught a split second look at the monstrous fangs housed in the vampire's maw before there was nothing but the eyes. His heart halted, his strength leaving, sending him staggering backwards as the eyes rose, fixed unblinkingly on his own. His heart beat once, painfully, and in that small time frame the orbs grew to consume the whole of his vision, cold breath skating across his throat.

"_Where is your God and your Oaths now, Dog Priest?"_

His lungs collapsed, forcing his last breath out as a final word formed on his lips. "_Stop!_"

In an instant the chill on his skin was gone, embers smothered. Torches formally snuffed flared slowly back to life, causing him to blink away the nothingness.

On the floor between him and the coffin the vampire was crouched, hissing like an animal and clutching at his heart.

He glanced at his men, but didn't motion for them to back off. Warily, he approached the once great king, taking in every little detail of the shivering frame. "Did your _test_ have the results you desired, vampire?" He paused, waiting for a response that didn't come. "Do you recognize my power over you, _slave_? Answer me! Answer your Master!"

The twitching of nerve endings calmed, the inhuman vocalizations fading. Oh so slowly the vampire turned his face to the Monsignor, eyes again half lidded but far from unfocused.

"Yes, _master._ I acknowledge the weak power you hold over me."

"_Weak?"_

The vampire chuckled. "Yes, _weak_. Had you been a Hellsing, I would never have been able to even rise to attack you, let alone get within striking range. Especially not in such a condition." His limbs loosened, and slowly he stood to face Orelas. "But it is power none the less." Crimson eyes flicked side to side, for the first time acknowledging the other men. "So tell me, to what do I owe the _pleasure_ of your company? What foolish whim have I been awakened for, _master_?"

Orelas bit back a scowl at the jab, straitening his posture in an attempt to look down at the vampire. "You have been awoken for the same purpose you served nearly half a millennium ago: to hunt down and kill the vampire menace."

With a scoff the vampire mimicked the monsignor's pose. "Oh? Five hundred years and you still haven't thought to fight fire with something other than more fire?" A dark chuckle sent the brilliant eyes sparking. "I would have thought your kind would grow weary of inadvertently sparking a house fire into a city wide burning."

"Do not misunderstand my tactics, demon. I chose to awaken you for the sole purpose of keeping The Church on even footing with its enemies."

"The Church? Oh goody, don't tell me my masters handed me off to the Vatican. Did you win me in a hand of poker, perhaps?"

"_Enough_ cretin. Now, you _will_ follow me quietly out of this dank tomb and you _will_ do as I command you without question. Do I make myself clear?"

"_Transparently_."

"Good. Now come, monster, we have much to do."

Orelas turned promptly on his heel, robes billowing around him as he headed for the winding stairs that would lead them back to the surface.

"_Master_, if I may, allow me to offer the bit of information that seems to be, much to your displeasure, eluding you."

The monsignor paused, glancing disdainfully over his shoulder at his new found servant. "Oh? And what is that?"

"My name." The vampire's face was filled with barely concealed mischief.

Orelas swiftly turned back to face the staircase, pausing a moment before continuing towards it, furious that the vampire had been listening in to his thoughts.

"Give it or not, I do not care. Perhaps I'll simply refer to you as 'vampire.'"

"Ah, but then how will you differentiate me from the others of my kind?"

"You are the only of your kind. The only other was a man who is now dead."

"You need my power to defeat a dead man?"

"Hardly."

"I do not understand. You say I am the last of my kind, yet you claim to need me to exterminate the 'vampire menace'-"

"Which is why I fear I have much catching up to assist you with…?"

"Alucard." The vampire filled in with a cheeky grin, lost to the shadows of the narrow staircase.

Monsignor Orelas repeated the name under his breath. It didn't ring any bells, as far as names from history were concerned, but then much of the knowledge of the past had been lost long before he was born. With a glance at the inhuman man at his side, he drew in a lungful of air in preparation for the debriefing he knew he'd end up giving.

"Long ago, the world came to an end…"

* * *

><p>That's all for now folks. I'm still working on commiting to memory most of the movie's storyline, and figuring out how i can filet it, stretch it out, and wave it about as an improved version of itself. Wow, the creepy images that popped into my head as I wrote that. Suffice to say, it involved people skin...<p>

and on that note...

Till next time, tatty-bye!

deadpan_riot


	2. standing orders

Chapter Two: Standing Orders  
>Summary: Alucard recieves his mission, and is sent out into the world.<p>

* * *

><p>The city was eerily quiet for a place with so many humans, much of their noise lost to the droning of magnified voices and machinery. To his predator eyes they resembled sheep now more than ever, huddling subconsciously together as they shuffled along the streets below. In all his years, he'd never seen a society of humans so completely and utterly broken and tamed. If it had been his choice, he'd burn the whole damn place down, just to see if he could get a reaction.<p>

His gaze rose from the streets below, moving to trace the walls that separated the city from the rest of the world. Useful in build and design, he supposed, but nothing that could stop him if he so pleased to defy them. It made him wonder even further on the descendants of the vampires he had once known. Orelas had given him a brief description of them, more metaphor then fact really, but still they sounded like nothing he'd ever known. Human vampires, as the Monsignor had called them, no longer existed.

Beyond the walls, there was little to see, although there seemed to be statues of some sort in the distance. The nothingness unnerved him. Where there had been towns, trees, _life_, there was now only desert that stretched to the reaches of his vision.

With a forming frown, he turned his attention back to the city, eyes snagging on the billboard closest to him. Where there should have been colorful ads for human fancies, there was the face of his new master, brilliant in all its bleakness. He had to look away to stop the sneer threatening to overtake his features. A world that broadcast its submission, no, enslavement to the church, while something he had long ago strived for, was no longer something he wanted to witness. Especially when he was not the one calling the shots.

"E-excuse me, sir?"

The vampire blinked as the timid voice brought him back to his place in it all, back to the balcony he stood on in Monsignor Orelas's quarters. Turning, he fixed the young boy with an indifferent gaze, wondering absently why they would send a timid altar boy-type to fetch him.

The kid cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his unease. "M-Monsignor Orelas sent me to escort you to the briefing room."

Alucard continued to stare at the boy, waiting until he began fidgeting nervously before turning and moving towards him. The boy stiffened, eyes wide and unblinking as the vampire approached. He towered over the kid as he came to stand beside him, letting the glasses drop to reveal a single eye as he quirked a brow. "Well?"

The boys eyes had grown even larger at the sight of the unnatural red iris, his voice cracking painfully as he managed out a "Yes, right this way," while bobbing his head almost comically.

The nosferatu flashed a lopsided grin, amused at how pale his guide turned.

With a strangled noise the boy turned, tripping slightly on the hem of his robes, and power walked to the door without making sure he was being followed.

Alucard waited until the hems of the boy's robes disappeared out into the hallway before following, ignoring the door that had been left wide for him. He could sense the human in the hallway, pausing to regain his cool while awaiting the vampire's appearance. Drifting to a part of the wall that didn't have some piece or other of furniture shoved snugly against it, the Nosferatu let a tiny yet toothy grin slide onto his face before moving smoothly through the plaster and wood barrier.

Reemerging into the dimly lit hallway, he turned his head slowly towards where he knew the boy to be.

Jumping at the flash of movement and color, the altar boy yelped when he caught sight of the vampire, steadying himself on the doorframe behind him. Alucard motioned for him to lead the way, and after a terrified, indecisive pause, moved warily to retake the lead.

Alucard continued to grin, watching the boy the entire time. Despite the fact that he was standing near the wall, once the boy reached him he practically threw himself into the wall opposite, eyes never leaving the Nosferatu as he curled in on himself and scuttled past.

Once in the elevator that would take them to the sub level that housed the decadent meeting chambers, the boy situated himself in the corner nearest the button panel. Alucard entered the small space, smirking at his reflection and the city line visible behind him through the window at the end of the hall.

The doors slid closed, the Nosferatu turning to lean on the thin railing set against the mirror. The ride was silent, not counting the racket made by the machines controlling the lift. The boy stood stiffly in his corner, staring unabashedly until with a ding the doors opened once more and he fled into the hallway beyond.

The sub level was a maze of clinical white, religious relics scattered here and there to break up the monotony. Alucard could hear the whispers of humanity seeping through the walls, a voice here, footsteps there. And all around the beating hearts of weak men.

Finally they reached their destination, his guide leading him into the room's antechamber before pausing to fidget before the decorative door nestled in the small space. He knocked thrice, waiting until a booming voice bid enter before holding open the door for the vampire.

The chamber was large, white, and far more decorative than a meeting place for a church should have been. Had his footsteps carried enough weight to create sound, the reverberations would have echoed magnificently against all the tile. Alucard stopped in the center of the room, looking up at the men situated at the raised circular panel before him.

"Vampire."

Alucard flashed his fangs in response.

Whispering broke out to his right, before one of the irate men spoke up. "Monsignor Orelas, what is the meaning of this? A vampire? Hardly. Why have you brought this _familiar_ before us?"

Orelas raised a hand to quite his fellow. "He is in fact a vampire, but not one of the creatures of which we are accustomed. He…_predates_ them. And more importantly is now under my command, by the will of our predecessors."

Further grumbling was ignored by the head, whom eyed his servant severely. "I have awoken you from your death sleep, fed you, and resupplied you with your preferred arms. I have proven both my power over you, and my generosity, even though a demon such as you does not deserve such. And yet you do not bow before me…"

Silence chased the echoes of Orelas's voice, gathered men holding their breath.

"Forgive me, _master_." Alucard bent in a mocking bow, more than certain the man wouldn't push the issue with so many eyes present.

The Monsignor's lips thinned into near nonexistence, but indeed said nothing to challenge the slight. "I have summoned you here for a singular purpose. Five months ago a train containing the bodies of innumerable vampires was found, wrecked, ten kilometers from the city's entrance."

More whispering, forcing Orelas to raise his voice. "It was also found that at least one of the reservations has been…_compromised_. Although we are not yet sure the exact meaning of this, we cannot afford to sit idle on this matter." Leaning back in his throne-like chair, Orelas gazed steadily down at the vampire in red, voice level and cutting as he gave his orders. "You are to make your way through the reservations, and any subsequent hives you may encounter. _Leave nothing alive_. The public has not been informed of this possible threat, and they have no reason to be. Be as discrete as possible, demon, we need not raise unwarranted panic."

Alucard waited until the echoed command died into silence before again mock bowing, grin larger than ever. "As you wish, _master_." Still bent at the waist, Alucard looked up into the hard eyes of the Monsignor over his glasses.

Orelas watching with a growing feeling of foreboding as the demon's eyes burned, form blurring until it was swallowed by darkness. He closed his eyes, waiting for the storm on either side of him to begin.

Xx

The night air raked its fingers through his hair, tugging at his coat as it whipped to and fro. Although the scents it carried with it had changed during his time of inactivity, it still carried the traces of human interference it had during the 21st century. And beneath it, something he couldn't identify that nagged at the back of his mind none the less.

He paused at the base of the massive rock statues standing sentinel between the city and the vast expanse beyond. Amusement bubbled up into his chest, spilling out in bitten off chuckles. "Even I was never so extravagant as to create such _eyesores_. Hm, perhaps I should have…"

Letting the mirth escape fully, Alucard leapt to the crown of the stone man's head before him. Without looking back at the confinement behind him, he used the statue as a springing board to launch himself high into the night sky. The force shifted the monolith, gravity grabbing greedily at the stone. The earth at the base of the statue erupted, newly formed crevices filled with the rain of dirt kicked up as the ground lost its hold. It hit the ground face first with enough force to render it into multiple chunks, louder than a train wreck. A cloud of dust exploded up around it, tremors from the impact racing in all directions, reaching even the walled-in city.

Men and women paused as the ground beneath their feet rumbled and shook, looking worriedly between one another in search of an answer to the unasked question. Only one pair of eyes looked to the stars and the wastes they illuminated, echoes of laughter lingering in the back of his mind.

Xxx

Quaint, if a bit dirty and run down, the town of Jericho was nearly deserted. Here and there the signs of rebuilding were glaringly obvious, just as here and there the signs of ruin painted a picture of a grim, not so long ago past.

The stench of old blood lingered in the dirt beneath his boots, mingled with the spices of fire and fear. Ghost images of flames, dead and dying men, screaming women and weeping children, they overlapped one another in his mind's eye. Different villages, different peoples, all of them bleeding for his cause, all of them ultimately bowing to him. But not here, not now. A mental shake to his senses and the thoughts, the memories, were banished.

A flicker of movement caught his attention, eyes landing on a swaying curtain barely concealing the presence of the man standing behind it. Frowning slightly at the cowardice of the remaining inhabitants, Alucard continued his slow trek through the town. There was no real reason for him to be there, save for his curiosity. These people who refused the so-called sanctuary of the church's city enticed him, yet so far he was sorely disappointed.

Where were the gun-toting, hard headed humans he had been expecting? The heart beats hidden behind poorly repaired walls quickened at the mere sight of him, senseless thoughts spinning off about his attire and the death of little children. In-so-far as he was aware, they had no reason to know what he may or may not have done in his 'youth', let alone have reason to feel more then general wariness towards his person.

Obviously, he was missing something.

The tell-tale sound of metal scraping metal paused his steps, the bullet meant for his skull whizzing mere centimeters in front of his nose to lodge itself in to the beam next to him. Slowly his eyes traced the bullet's path back to the human standing in the shadows not ten feet to his right.

The form went rigid, muzzle of the gun in outstretched arms illuminating the shooter just long enough to show in fine detail the face of a young woman before his vision went red and the world fell away.


End file.
